You want to know how to get reader reviews. You need to know where to start.

And you probably want to discover the “secret sauce that will help you get those reviews.

The secret sauce

That’s simple: Give books away.

You just have to give a copy of your book to people in exchange for an honest review.

But who do you give books to? Where do you find those people? And how do you make sure they review it?

Follow these five steps to getting reviews from people who will love your book.

Step 1: Give your book to people in your target audience.

Think of those in your target audience as your ideal readers. They’re the people you wrote the book for, so they’re going to be the most interested in reading and reviewing it.

Giving them the book is the easy part. Finding readers to give it to is harder, isn’t it?

That’s why I created a list of nine places where you can find readers who write reviews. You can download it here.

You might be concerned that giving your book away in exchange for an honest review will cannibalize your sales. I understand that, and I can’t say that it won’t.

But I will say that you can’t count on people (especially strangers) who bought your book to review it, either. And you need reviews if you want to sell more books. So, you have no choice but to lose just a handful of sales to gain a whole lot more of them.

Step 2. Make it easy for them to review your book.

There are a few ways you can do this. One of them is to include a copy of my Build Book Buzz Reader Book Review Form with your review copy. It’s a fillable PDF file that walks them through the process. They can type their review directly into the form, then copy and paste it into a review template on Amazon, Goodreads, and elsewhere.

You can also offer a few review ideas when you send the free copy. Share information about what you’ve heard from endorsers or other earlier reviewers as subtle prompts for their own reviews.

Be sure to include a link to your Amazon review page in the back of your book, too. I show how to do that in this video.

Step 3. Follow up to get reader reviews.

Follow up with the people you’ve sent review copies to. Remind them that their review will help other readers decide what to read. And, give them a link to the review section of your Amazon and Goodreads book pages (here’s how to do that again).

via GIPHY

Email follow up isn’t always possible because you might not have email addresses for everyone who’s downloaded a review copy. But when you do, check in with them.

People are busy. They forget. We all need and appreciate reminders.

Step 4. Follow up again.

Just one more gentle nudge.

Step 5. Start the process over again.

Unfortunately, most aren’t going to write that review, even though they accepted your book fully intending to do so. You know why that is – you have the same problems when you have a “want to do” versus a “must do” on your to-do list and can’t do both.

It’s a numbers game, so you have to continue to get those review copies into the right hands until you get at least 10 to 20 positive reviews posted. To do that, you need to continue to work on this until you’ve got enough.

Don’t expect reviews to appear organically. Create a plan to get reader reviews – when to ask, who to ask, how to ask – and work it.

Then work it again.

Your book deserves the support offered by reader reviews. Please do your best to make that happen.

How do you get reader reviews? Please give us your best tip in a comment!

Why you shouldn’t give your book away

By Rhonda Penders

Why buy the cow when the milk is free?

We’ve all heard that saying. Basically, the meaning behind it is that someone isn’t going to pay for something that is offered for free. Whether it’s your virtue or your book, the issue is still the same.

When a writer devalues her work to the point of giving away her book, isn’t that what she is really doing? Just giving it away as if it were nothing?

I have to wonder if an author is so desperate to have someone, anyone, read her book, that she’s passing them out like pamphlets on the street corner.

Is it so bad that she doesn’t think anyone would or should pay for it? What about the months, maybe even the years, she spent pounding away at the keyboard creating that book? What about the lost hours spent editing and reworking it to perfection?

A promotional ploy

Most authors sacrifice a lot to write a book. They give up any and all free time in exchange for getting the story on paper. That has to be worth something; certainly more than a freebie.

Authors tell me it’s a promotional ploy. Promotion is great and today we have to constantly try new angles and ideas to draw in readers. I have no issue with giving away a chapter to entice a reader to purchase the rest of the book but give away the whole book? It doesn’t make any sense.

Authors hope that by giving away a book, readers will buy more of them or will buy the next book that comes out.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t usually work that way. Readers are a very frugal bunch. If they can get free books, why would they pay for yours? They will simply pick up someone else’s free book tomorrow, and someone else’s the next day, and so forth.

The numbers don’t lie

You may disagree with me — maybe your experience is different — but as a publisher, I have to tell you that the sales numbers don’t lie. While a select small number of authors may have seen book giveaways as a clever promotion to boost the sales of their next book, it is rare. Giving books away isn’t making sales numbers climb. How could it? Free doesn’t equal bigger royalty checks.

Meanwhile, authors have devalued their craft to the point where even they don’t think it should cost anything. I’ve been to a lot of craft shows the past couple of months. I’m amazed at the price of the handmade pieces people are selling.

But then I think about the hours and hours of hard work these artists put into each piece and I have to admit it’s probably a bargain. Aren’t authors the same as these other artists? Aren’t authors creators of their craft and shouldn’t they value their work just as much as a wood carver or a glass blower does?

What’s best for you career?

Maybe this old adage has a point in today’s publishing world. Every writer has to do what he/she thinks is best for their career.

It’s a tough time in publishing for authors but the answer isn’t giving it away. To me, that’s the same as giving up.

What do you think? Do you agree with Rhonda Penders that you shouldn’t give your books away for free? Tell us about your opinion or experiences with this in a comment below.